SANDY — Late next week on Independence Day, Real Salt Lake will board a plane for Orlando to gear up for the MLS is Back Tournament.
Between now and then, RSL players and staff will do everything they can to be safe and avoid COVID-19 so they can leave as scheduled. Defender Justen Glad said he’s hopeful everyone around the league is doing the same thing, because news out of the NWSL on Monday reiterated just how unpredictable the coronavirus can be.
Eight players and staff members on the Orlando Pride tested positive for COVID-19, which forced the team to withdraw from the monthlong NWSL tournament that is scheduled to get underway in Utah this weekend.
It was certainly an eye-opener for the entire soccer community.
“At the end of the day there’s still a lot of unknowns that we’re not sure about, so we’re kind of going out on a limb going out there. But I guess at this point we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” said RSL defender Aaron Herrera on a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday.
“I feel like with all the precautious we’re taking, there’s still a lot that we don’t know, and there’s still a lot that can go wrong going into Orlando. Who knows, maybe one of the chefs cooking our meals has the virus, and then somehow eight guys on our team end up getting it and somehow we’re not able to move forward.”
The MLS is Back Tournament is slated to kick off on July 8.
Asked if MLS should even be restarting amid the pandemic and increasing cases in Utah and Florida, both Glad and Herrera seemed to be unsure of the right thing to say with so many differing opinions out there.
“There’s so many different situations, every person has a different situation,” said Glad, referencing the fact a lot of his RSL teammates have kids they’ll be away from for an extended period of time.
Herrera said, with owners needing money and the players wanting to keep getting paid, at some point the season just needs to get started.
Real Salt Lake is entering its second week of full team training, and the intensity and excitement has certainly picked up.
“Everyone on our team enjoys soccer and loves soccer, so we want to be playing. And even just the transitioning from small groups to the full team, you could see the mental shift to excitement and enthusiasm,” said Glad.
Herrera said the team is doing a lot of 11v11 training to help get the players match fit as quickly as possible after the three-month layoff following the suspension of the MLS season on March 12.
There’s extra motivation as RSL is lumped into the same group with rivals Kansas City and Colorado, in addition to Minnesota.
“I’m excited, I thought our group was pretty good. I’m excited to play Sporting (Kansas City) and Colorado. For me I look forward to those games just cause there’s a little something behind it,” said Glad.